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Friday, December 7, 2012

Viennese Sandwich Cookies

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...If the smell of flax soap was added to the aromas coming from my kitchen, I'd swear the ghost of Christmas past had reversed time and plunked me in the basement of the apartment complex where I spent my childhood. As Christmas approached, the basement captured the aromas of the cooking being done in the townhouses to the right of ours. The scent of cinnamon and cardamon mingled with that of nutmeg and cloves and one of my favorite pastimes was guessing who was baking on any given day. Hannie and Mrs. P. commanded those kitchens and began their holiday preparations early in December. Hannie took Christmas decor as seriously as she did its baking. Her home was festooned with garlands and boughs and gifts wrapped so beautifully it would hurt to tear them open. The house itself was as comfortable as a Bavarian ski chalet and everyone who entered it felt comfortable and welcome. While Hannie was hanging her garlands, Mrs. P. began her holiday preparations with a cleaning so thorough that it would put the Merry Maids to shame. She washed and scrubbed and polished till every surface gleamed and the smell of flax soap couldn't be separated from the pine scent of her Christmas tree. By the time she was finished, you could perform surgery on her dining room table. Both women made lovely, if quite different, homes, and both kitchens were models of wonderfully wretched excess. I've already shared their holiday recipes with you, so tonight I wanted to feature a recipe I know they would both love and add to their collections. Like so much of what they did, these cookies, too, are a study in wretched excess. They are a lot of work, but they are also the kind of cookie people love to eat. I do hope you will give them a try. Here's the recipe.

17 comments
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Looks like nothing wretched about these to me!! Yum! My kitchen falls far short of her cleanliness! But a little dust is good for the immune system. Phil likes to say "How can we be allergic to dust when we were made from it?"

Before Christmas and Easter, in my mother's house, too, everything has to be turned upside down and every corner cleaned as if the Emperor himself would show up for the feast. The women in the farming hamlet I was born into kept an eye on my mother, the "Auswärtige" (the one who came from the "outside"), they would immediately notice of something was amiss (unannounced visits were common back then).

I love this post, Mary! I love to hear about things from your childhood.. and what a great memory to have.. even if it is about flax soap :) And speaking of love... I think I've fallen for these cookies!! YUM!

Sometimes the effort is just worth it! They look amazing. Love, love, love your stories. You are able to take me somewhere I've never been and I enjoyed it so much! Thanks for the holiday visit with your neighbors.

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